Heel base and process of making the same



Aug. 16, 1932. 0, 1 CRAFTS 1,872,124

HEEL BASE AND PROCESS 0F MAKING THE SAME FledNov. 25. 1930 (7i/15s 170210:; is, r. A

gil? 11,4%? 424. I e

Patented Aug. 16, 1932 UNTED STATES OTIS T. CRAFTS,.OF MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE HEEL BASE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE lSAME' Application mea November 2,5, 1930. serial" No. 498,041.

My invention aims to provide an improved heel or heel base for boots and shoes, also an improved art or process of manufacturing a heel or base. The term heel base is or- 6 dinarily employed when reference is made to a low heel of two-eighths to three-eighths of an inch in height; when in excess of such height it is more commonly termed a heel.

In the present instance, for simplicity `of 10 statement, I shall refer tothe subject matter of my invention as relating to heel bases, it

being understood that the same process may be employedto'produce articles ofk greater height that would be more properly called l5 heels.

Prior to my invention many attempts have been made to reduce the cost of making heel bases by building them up of one or more pieced layers,that is to say, layers comprising assembled pieces cut from remnants o leather as distinguished from whole layers, whichlatter require such large pieces from which to cut them as to render'them very expensive.

Prior to my invention, however, so far as I am aware, it has been considered impractieable to employ pieced layers except in connection with whole layers, or partial layers extended transversely of the heel at one or both sides of the pieced layer, to bind the pieces ofthelatter together orin position 4against displacement during the further process of applying the heel or while the heel is in use. My Vinvention comprehends the manufacture of a heel baseof longitudinally assembled layer pieces without the necessary assembly at either side thereof of either whole layers or transversely arranged layer sections or pieces.

My invention also comprehends other fea'- tures which may be used to advantage with .the pieced layers above referred to or otherwise,as will more fully hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing, I have illustrated :one embodiment of m-y invention and one method for. carrying it out.

In the illustrative embodimentand process shown inthe drawingz- Fig. l is a plan View `of the bottom or sole face of a heel base illustrating myinvention;V l

Fig. 2 is a right-hand or rear-edge view of the base shown in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is aA detail showing the rear end of a layercomprised of longitudinally assembled membersrmade in accordance with my invention Fig. 4 is ,a vertical, `longitudinal section of the base shown in Fig. l, the section being taken on the dotted line 4 4;

Fig. 5 is a vertical, ktransverse section of the base shown in Fig. l, the section being taken on the dotted line `5 5, looking to the right; f

Fig. 6 is a side or edge elevation'of abase comprising two layers made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 7 is a back elevation or edge view of f the base shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a plan of thebottom ofthe rear end of a fabricated shoe with parts broken away;

.and

Figs. l to 5 inclusiveis built up of four layers, while that in Figs. 6 and 7 is built of but two layers. ySince the additional height of base, in Figs. lito v5 inclusive is obtained by superposingtwo of the bases shown in Figs.

6 and 7, it will be convenient, as well as more simple, to disclose my invention by referring lirst to-Figs, 1, 3,6 and 7.

Referring to these figures, I have provided,

-1irst, va layer@ comprising a plurality of longituclinally assembled layer sections or pieces 8, 8,shown as two in number and of substantially identical size and shape, asbestshown inFigs. l and 3. Each of these layer pieces comprises substantially one-half the full area of the completed layer, and both pieces may be cut out by use of one and the same die, they being assembled with their straight edges facing each other and preferably in abutting .contact along the longitudinal, median line of the layer. The term abutting Contact is employed to mean that the lift pieces are assembled one longitudinal face opposed to the n otherbut not necessarily in actual `physical Contact therewith. While ordinarily the best results will be had by actual physical abutment of one edge faceagainst the other, it is to be understood that successful results may be had if they face each other with more or less of a space between, the degree of separation permissible being` determined by all the circumstances under which they are used. In any event, at the back end of the heel it is more desirable that there be actual physical contact to avoid the necessity for filling in any gap at the exposed back of the heel.

In the vicinity of the back end of the heel, each of the lift pieces 8 is provided with a laterally extended ear portion 9, scarfed at one face to permit the two ears to overlap one upon the other along a diagonal line 10, Fig. 2, when the two pieces 8 are assembled as described. A suitable adhesive. is preferably used to cement the scarfed faces of the overlapping ears to each other when they are assembled, this adhesive being applied to one or both the contacting faces before the assembly, as may be found to produce the best results. l

Where a greater height of base is required than can conveniently be produced by the described assembly of two layer pieces a, such additional height may be had by employing two or more superposed layers of the same construction or, preferably, there will be overlaid upon the two-piece layer c described an additional layer o comprising two side vpieces or sections 11, Fig. 1, and a transverse back section 12.

The side sections 11 may also be cut out from a single die overa run of sizes.

One of the ends of the side sections 11 is preferably cut off square to make accurate lit with the straight inner edge of the transverse back section 12, as shown in Fig. 1. This connection may be a square abutting contact or one of the ends of the side pieces may be scarfed oif, as indicated at 13, Fig. 6, to underlie the similarly scarfed straight edge of the back piece 12, the two scarfed faces beingl preferably attached together or united as by a suitable adhesive.

It will be observed that the side pieces 11 have both edges made Aslightly convex to approximate the curve of the outside of the heel base in that vicinity, so that in assembling the heel, the operative may assemble the pieces with either face up and with either edge outward.

Having assembled the base, Figs. 6 and 7, as described, it is passed through a Young, Monarch or other suit-able gouging machine, and one face, namely, that made up of the pieces 11 and 12, and it may be the middle portion of the layer a, is gouged to produce the desired concavity or cupping to fit the convex heel portion of the sole.

Where the desired height of the full heel base is greater than may conveniently be obtained by the two layers, Figs. 6 and 7, and it 'is desired to apply thereto an additional pair or pairs of layers similarly assembled, each pair of layers made as described will preferably he gouged as described before being assembled or superposed, as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5.

lcavity that can be obtained by gouging, due

to the fact that if the gouging is very deep, it is likely to cut away so much of the layer pieces as not to leave enough to be caught and kheld by the attaching nails' when the heel is applied to the shoe, with the result that sometimes such side pieces might spring loose and obtrude at the sides of the heel. lf the desired depth of concavity does not exceed the thickness of the layer pieces, there will aiways remain enough of width of such pieces to assure them Firm attachment when the heel is applied. It is when. the depth of desired concavity exceeds the thickness of the side pieces-and this is usually the case, that there is likelihood of cutting away so much of the side pieces in the gouging process as to leave insuiiicient width of the pieces for secure attachment when the heel is applied.

By assembling successive pairs of gouged layers, as shown in Figs. t and 5, this diiiiculty is avoided because each pair before assembly will havebeen gouged to a. depth not to exceed the thickness of the pieced layers thereof, and when two pairs of layers so gcuged are assembled or superposed as shown and are compressed, the upper pair or pairs is or are depressed into the concavity gouged in the layer beneath, so that in the finally compressed base the concavity formed is aggregate of the combined gouges of the assembled layers.

By this construction and method, an ultimate concavity may be had as deep as desired and exceeding the thickness of any one or.

more of the pieced layers; in fact, the gouging might be carried somewhat into the twopicce layers beneath the three-piece layers if desired, without danger of cuting away the side pieces to such an extent as to make them incapable of secure attachment by the heel nails commonly employed in attaching the ieels. y

The two pieces of the layer a are adequately secured together at their rear ends by the overlapping and united ears 9 and are further united by the overlapping transverse layer piece 12, which latter is usually cemented over and upon the underlying portions of the layer pieces 8, so that in the handling of the layers preparatory to atcaching the base to the slice, there is no .2.;

the heel base to the shoe or of the top,--

whether of rubber or leather, to the base, where the driving of one or morefattaching nails into the line of contactmay spread the pieces 8.

To guard againstV this, after the layer has beeny gouged 1nd before compression, it is presented to a staple taoker, such as is found in practically every shoe shop, and one or i' more metallic fastenings 14, see Figs. 1 and 5, preferably in the form of staples, are driven through' andclinchechto bridge the line of abutting contactof the pieces of the layer a, as best shown in Fig..i5.

In the process of compression, these me` tallic fastenings are further impressed into and upon the pieces of leather so that they do not project appre'ciably above the surrounding surfaces through which they are driven,r and they-prevent any subsequent spreading of the layer sections 8v by the nailsemployed in attaching the base and tops.

Other means may be employed for securing the pieces 8, 8, in abutting relationship or contact than the metallic fastenings shown; for example, they may be stitched together. a

i Figs. 8 and 9 showone manner of attaching arubber heel top to a heel seat' by use of the heel'baseshown in Fig. 5. In this example,

the heel base 15 is conveniently attached to' the sole'l'by use of nails 17, whilethe rubber heel top 18 is afterwards applied, and attac-hed by nails 19. In commercial practice the nailing operations preferably are. carriedY fout by use of a suitable heel nailmgmaehine.

It'will be observed that the nails 17 and 19 extend through the gouged layers wellback :from their feather edges and, further, that` these nails act to hold the longitudinally split.; breast portion of theheel base in assembled relation.

A heel base made in accordancewith my invention may be composed entirely of piecesno single whole layers are required, and. in

the' building` up of the heel base, whatever the heightiis to be, and whatever depth of; concavity is required, no waste thickness is involved because those layers d which make up the body of the base to but not including` any part ofthe concavity, may be of such thickness,`singly or in' the aggregate, that nothing will be gong-ed therefrom in the formation of the concavity,-the entire concavity will be gouged from the marginal or side pieceslland back :pieces 12 constituting' al single layer b: or one or more multiples thereof.. Inother-words, in building up a` base, there must be' a certain thickness of ymaterial extending across the entire width of the heel, .to avoid leaving a vconcavity inthe middle of the heel, and this thickness is made up of'aplurality of layers a, and in the formation ofthe concavity the only layers that are gougedy or out away are the less expensive smaller` pieces of the layer or layers b.

A4 superior heel' base would be obtained by superposing a plurality of layers a one upon another, the pieces of each secured at the back by the overlapped and united ears 9 and secured forward thereof by the attaching nails that would be employed to attach the heel base to the .shoe and the top to the. base. I believe such a construction to be new. It wouldbe economical` inthat it would be wholly built up of pieced layers and also because a single `die only would be used for both the pieces 8. Such a base wheny built up to the ultimate overall heightrequiredy would be gouged as heretofore described. In addi.- tion to the above,.the layer which is to lie next the sole might be made up of the threepiece construction of the layer o or of the well-known half-horeshoe sections gouged as before, to form the entire concavity by cutting.

In any event, the heel bases made hereunder will be built up to the entireI over-all height of the desired completed base and wholly regardless ofthe thickness of the in dividual layers and however the layers of i-arying thickness may be assembled, so long as the requiredover-all and ultimate height is obtained, whereupon the entirev concavity will be cut or gouged at a sinole operation on a Young, Monarch or equivalentgouging machine, as first disclosed andv cov-ered in myr earlier Patentv No. 1,528,912, issued March 1, 1925. Should it 'be deemed ineXpedient to cut the fullconcavity in one face of the base, a part could be cut in one face and the balance. in the opposite face, and compression relied'upon to straighten out thel oppositelv gauged base to give it one plain face, which would cause the other to exhibit the entire concavity. Y Y

My invention is not'limited to the process and product above kdisclosed but may be varied within the spirit and scope ofthe claims.

I claim:

1. That'improvement in the art ofmaking heels which.comprisesforming'a heel base blank of desired over-all'height and of one or `more layers, by assembling for each layer a plurality'of'longitudinally abutted layer pieces providedb at one of their ends with overlapping uniting ears; cuppinga face of said base blank` byV gouging the assembled blank thereat'; attachin g' the base so made by usual nailstoashoey sole and thereafteri'attaching to the top face of said base a top of the desired material, the fastening means attaching the base to the sole and the top to the base serving to retain the breast ends of said longitudinally abutted layer pieces against displacement.

2. That improvement in the art of making heels Which comprises forming a heel base blank of desired over-all height and of one or more layers, by assembling for each layer a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends with overlapping ears united by an adhesive; cupping a face of said base blank by gouging the assembled blank thereat; attaching the base so made kby usual nails to a shoe soleand thereafter attaching to the top face of said base a top of the desired material, the fastening means attaching the base to the sole and the top to the base serving to retain the breast ends of said longitudinally abutted layer pieces against displacement.

3. That improvement in the art of making heels which comprises forming a heel base blank of desired over-all height and of one or more layers, by assembling for each layer a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends with overlapping united ears; cupping a face of said base blank by gouging the assembled blank thereat; compressing the gouged base; attaching by usual nails the base so made to a shoe sole and thereafter attaching to the top face of said base a top of the desired material, the fastening means attaching the base to the sole and the top to the base serving to retain the breast ends of said longitudinally abutted layer pieces against displacement.

4. That improvement in the art of making heels which comprises forming a heel base blank of desired over-all height and of one or more layers, by assembling for each layer a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends with overlapping united ears; cupping the face of said base black by gouging the assembled blank ther-eat; securing the layer pieces together toward the breast end of the base by fastening means spanning the abutting assembly line; attaching the base so made by usual nails to a shoesole and thereafter attaching to the top face of said base a top of the desired material, the fastening means attaching the base to the sole and the top to the base serving to retain the breast ends of said longitudinally abutted layer pieces against displacement.

5. That improvement in the art of making heels Which comprises forming a heel base blank of desired over-all height and of one or more layers, by assembling for each layer a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends with overlapping united ears; cupping a face of said base blank by gouging the assembled blank thereat; securing the layer pieces together toward the breast ends of 'the base by fastening means spanning the abutting assembly line, compressing the base thus formed; attaching by usual nails the base so made to a shoe sole and thereafter attaching to the top face of said base a top of the desired material, the fastening means attaching the base to the sole and the top to the base serving to retain the breast ends of said longitudinally abutted layer pieces against displacement.

6. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends With overlapping uniting ears and additionally secured against separation by a metallic fastening bridging the abutted joint.

7. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends With adhesively united ears and additionally secured against separation by a metallic fastening bridging the abutted joint.

8. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends with adhesively united ears and additionally secured against separation by a fastening bridging the abutted oint.

9. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces united toward their breast ends by a fastening bridging the abutted joint, and a transverse layer piece overlying said longitudinally abutted pieces at one'face thereof and across said abutment joint.

l0. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces united toward their breast ends by a fastening bridging the abutted oint, a transverse layer piece overlying said longitudinally abutted pieces at one face thereof and across said abutment joint, and a fastening additional to said transverse layer also bridging said abutment joint.

11. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at a face and at their rear ends With a transversely extended layer piece secured thereto and to-Ward their opposite or breast ends with additional fastening means bridging said abutment oint, and said transverse layer pieces overlying said abutted layer piece at the same face as said transverse face and completing therewith a second layer.

12. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces kprovided at one face and at one of their ends with a transverse layer piece, said pieces at the same face as said transverse layer piece, forming in conjunction therewith a second layer, and a fastening uniting said abutting pieces and bridging the joint between the same.

13. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprisin in combination a plurality of longitudina y abutted layer pieces provided at one of their faces with side and back layer pieces, the latter bridging said abutted joint and provided also with additional fastening means bridging said abutment at a point toward the breast of said base, said base being cupped at its face formed by said side and rear pieces.

14. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a pluralityk of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends with overlapping, scarfed and united ears, and additionally secured against separation by a fastening bridging said abutted joint.

l5. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends with overlapping united scarfed ears and additionally secured against separation by a fastening bridging the abutted joint, and additional side and back layer pieces secured to said longitudinally abutted layer pieces at one of the faces of the latter, said side and back layer pieces having overlapped engagement with each other.

16. As an article of manufacture, a heel base comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces provided at one of their ends with overlapping united scarfed ears and additionally secured against separation by a fastening bridging the abutted joint, and additional side and back layer pieces secured to said longitudinally abutted layer pieces at one of the faces of the latter, said side and back layer pieces having overlapped scarfed engagement with each other.

17. As an article of manufacture, a heel base blank comprising in combination a plurality of longitudinally abutted layer pieces having secured thereto at one of their faces additional side and back layer pieces, the latter bridging said abutted joint.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

OTIS T. CRAFTS. 

